A Fairy Christmas Carol
by bibliophilia13
Summary: It's Christmas Eve and everyone is taking part in the festivities and spreading Christmas cheer except for one person. Laxus Dreyer is not only bringing down the Christmas spirit, but is bringing everyone else's mood down too. His mind is set on leaving the guild for Christmas day. Is there anything that will change his mind? A Christmas Carol set in the Fairy Tail universe.
1. Chapter 1

So, I am going to try to get this done and out by Christmas as a personal goal for myself. I don't have a predicted time-table for updates yet…

This has been inspired by the book _A Christmas Carol_ by Charles Dickens. All characters belong to Hiro Mashima.

* * *

It was winter time in Magnolia and the whole town was nice and settled like the freshly fallen snow… Well most of the town was nice and settled, but like usual the guild that called Magnolia home was still roaring with life, well into the night.

"WHAT?"

The question came in the form of an uproar from three mages known for being one of Fairy Tail's strongest teams. The three mages were facing their leader with shock and awe as he repeated his statement.

"We are leaving for a mission in the morning. We will meet at the train station at 7:00 am." Laxus Dreyer stated as if the statement had not just been met with strong opposition.

"But Laxus," complained the only woman in the group. Evergreen's look of disappointment could be seen through her wire rimmed glasses. Despite it being the dead of winter, she wore a tight fitting short green dress. To make up for the cold she accompanied the dress with fuzzy thigh-high stockings and matching green knit arm warmers. "Tomorrow is Christmas."

"What's your point?" The large blonde man asked as he turned back towards his pint at the bar. His leopard print furry coat hung from his shoulders as if it were a cape.

"Oh come on, Laxus, its Christmas time, it's supposed to be fun." Bixslow cackled and returned to his own drink. His lolling tongue dangled showing off his guild mark, the only facial feature that could be seen while he wore his knight helmet. His totems, affectionately referred to as his "babies", floated about tittering about all the fun aspects of Christmas.

"Christmas, Laxus!"

"Fun."

"Presents."

"Eggnog."

"Mistletoe."

Laxus rolled his eyes at the flying totems as they continued to float about listing all of the pleasant aspects that one enjoys around Christmas time. "Bixslow, if you don't shut those things up, you'll have to spend the next week carving out more vessels for your damn soul collection."

The totems visibly drooped and then floated off to chase around some of the younger members of the guild who were helping Mira decorate the guild hall. Everyone about the guild hall was taking part in the festivities in some way or another. Pantherlily and Happy had been coerced in to stringing up garlands to the upper levels of the guild. Levy and Lucy were hard at work wrapping presents destined to be delivered to the orphanage by Cana, who incidentally was drinking herself silly while critiquing the two girl's present wrapping skills. Natsu's destructive tendencies were being reined in by Lisanna who was getting his assistance in toasting marshmallows for tasty treats. Even some of the more brooding individuals were taking part in the merriment as Gajeel was helping Wendy hang stockings for every member of the guild and Gray was making icy ornaments to be hung outside the guild hall. Nearby, and slightly out of Gray's vision stood Juvia, who was spying on her love and strategizing on where to place the mistletoe for optimum effectiveness.

"You know, Laxus," reproached Freed. The green haired mage was dressed in his usual formal red attire and his expression as stoic as ever. "This is the season where one usually spends time relaxing with those that mean the most to them. Perhaps you could postpone the mission for the day in the name of the holiday spirit."

Laxus visibly stiffened. He downed what remained of his pint and slammed the glass back down on to the counter. He followed it up with the jewel for his tab and turned around to face the three that made up his entourage. "If Christmas is that damn important to you, then you can stay here. I'll go on the mission alone." Laxus growled and then he pushed past the three without another word.

As Laxus made his way to exit the guild, the front doors opened with a bang revealing Elfman. The huge man was dressed in a short sleeved Santa jacket and red Santa shorts complete with fuzzy white trim. A Santa hat, that was too small for his large head, sat on his head and he wore the accompanying coal black boots. Upon entering the guild he flexed his muscles in a herculean pose and shouted out, "This year, Santa's a real man!"

This drew the attention of the entire guild towards Elfman. Cheers were hollered in the man's general direction, and then the guild noticed Laxus as he tried to slip away.

"Hey Laxus, what's the rush?" Cana slurred as she rolled over to face the lightning dragon slayer. "The fun hasn't even started yet."

"Laxus, you can't leave yet." Natsu called out and made a run towards the blonde and shouted out, "Fight me Laxus!" Just as Natsu got within reach, Laxus turned and knocked the pink haired dragon slayer face first into the ground with a single move. Laxus continued to make his way out of the guild.

At that moment, Erza marched into the guild dressed in her own Santa themed dress and Santa hat. "Merry Christmas Eve everyone!" The scarlet haired mage shouted and spun around in excitement.

"Whoo, Erza's ready to party!" Cana shouted and ran up to Erza to embrace her in a drunken hug and then turned towards the bar. "Mira break out the holiday brew." Mira giggled and motioned for Kinana to get something from the back.

"Who wants to play 'Who's the Guild Master'?" Erza shouted which was suddenly met with huge opposition and a resounding "NO!" from the dragon slayers and Gray as well as Levy, Lucy, and Juvia.

Laxus just grumbled and pushed on the doors, finally reaching the wintery air outside. It wasn't that late, but the change of season meant that it was already dark outside and the wind was starting to pick up. Laxus continued to grumble down the street as he pulled his arms into his coat to keep warm.

Magnolia, much like the Fairy Tail guild hall, had been decked out for the season. Shops were decorated in holiday colors and twinkling lights adorned the homes and buildings throughout the town. In the distance, anyone could hear the sounds of carolers singing songs and of cheery greetings being shared between friends and family. For someone with the hearing of a dragon slayer, those joyous sounds could be heard as clearly as if he were right there. The whole scene just made the man scowl. 'I just don't understand why everyone's got to be so damn loud about the whole thing,' Laxus thought as he trudged along.

"Mommy, Daddy, look! It's Laxus." The cries of a little girl reached the lightning dragon slayer's ears causing him to look up. Right in front of him was Alzack and Bisca presumably walking towards Fairy Tail. Alzack was covered in a heavy wool pancho and Bisca had a wool lined leather jacket that completely covered her torso to protect from the cold. A light amount of snow dusted her cowboy style hat. In Alzack's arms was little Asuka. Her cheeks were a little more rose colored due to the cold, but she still wore a bright smile and eyes that were bright with joy and wonder. Just like her mother, Asuka's hat had collected a small amount of snow and she wore a pink dyed wool pancho, which was likely a gift from her father.

"So it is," Alzack said and tapped the nose of his daughter playfully. "Those are some good eyes little missy."

"Hey there, Laxus. Are you going to stop by the guild tonight? I heard that Mira has a lot of activities planned for the holidays." Bisca said with a smile.

"No," Laxus said and continued walking by the cheerful trio. Laxus could still hear their conversation as he walked away.

"What's wrong with Laxus, Mommy?" The little girl asked as they continued on her way towards the guild hall.

"Nothing, hun, he's just a little grouchy, that's all." Bisca answered.

"He could have been just a little polite. It is Christmas Eve." Alzack muttered.

"That's enough, Al. Just leave it alone." Bisca scolded her husband and then turned her attention back to her daughter. "Don't worry too much on it, darlin'. He's just gonna miss out on all the fun."

"Don't you think he will be lonely?" Asuka asked. At this Laxus growled and moved more quickly to get out of hearing range of the small happy family and get back to his apartment sooner.

Laxus had finally reached his building and worked his way up the stairs to his apartment. Once the door was closed he released his breath with a relieved sigh. "Finally," he said out loud to himself, "quiet."

The apartment itself was rather simple. Laxus didn't need much. There was a small kitchen that was open to the living area. The living area held a single black leather recliner and with a side table. Up against the wall was fireplace, of course it wasn't a real fireplace. This one was lacrima powered, something that was some stupid requirement of the lease, something about being safer than a real fireplace. It kept the place warm either way. Just to the side of the fireplace was a small staircase leading to the loft area. It was there that Laxus had his large bed and a set of drawers for his clothes. He didn't require much more than that. A place to sleep, warmth, and Laxus's favorite feature of the loft apartment: silence.

When Laxus had realized he needed his own place, he asked Freed to come along. With his ears being so sensitive to noise in general, there was no way he would be able to live in an apartment building and not be privy to the personal lives of the entire building. When he found the right place for him, he had Freed place runes on the apartment to keep out any outside noise. It was such a simple thing that provided the man with so much comfort; he often couldn't wait to be back in the sanctuary of his own place.

Laxus tossed his keys on kitchen counter and shrugged his coat off just tossing it to the floor. He reached up to the top of his refrigerator and grabbed a rather large bottle of bourbon. Satisfied with his choice, he made his way to the fireplace and activated the lacrima before shucking off his shoes and collapsing in his recliner. Laxus took the top off the bottle and took a swig before lying back in the chair and running his hand through his hair.

"Happy fucking Christmas." Laxus said and raised his bottle up as if to toast some unknown presence before bringing it back to his lips and taking a couple gulps. It was there that he stayed with only the light of the fire lacrima to be alone with his bourbon and his thoughts.

Mira watched from the bar as Laxus stormed his way out of the guild. Laxus had told her earlier that he would be going on a mission first thing in the morning and to inform the client that he would be arriving. Mira had asked him to come in for Christmas with the guild. She hadn't seen him around for the last few Christmas's. She always thought it was just coincidence that he wasn't around that day. It was only today that she realized that he was purposefully avoiding the holiday.

"What's with the frown, sweet-cheeks?" Mira turned to find Cana, who was now at the bar. Well, to be more accurate she was on the bar. Cana was lying on her side with her elbow on the counter of the bar to support her head. She had a wicked smile on her lips and a bottle of wine in her other hand.

"Oh, it's nothing Cana. What did you manage to get your hands on now?" Mira replied with a sweet smile.

"It sure didn't look like nothing. In fact, it kinda looked like a think headed, stubborn, bastard lightning dragon slayer." Cana smirked and took another drink from the bottle of wine before adding on. "Oh, and by the way, nice deflection."

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Mira said as she crossed her arms and took a seat at the bar next to Cana. Cana just laughed.

"Your words say no, but your eyes are saying something different." Cana teased as she sat up. She was wobbling slightly, but steadied herself quickly and held out the bottle to offer a drink to Mira. Mira took a look at the bottle and let out a sigh before grabbing it and taking a couple of gulps.

"Woah there sugar-tits, slow down. What's got your panties in a twist?" Cana said and took back the bottle from Mira.

"I'm worried about Laxus. He seems to be avoiding everyone around Christmas." Mira explained in a soft voice.

"You mean more than usual?" Cana asked as she surveyed the rest of the guild while Mira nodded and looked down at her hands. "He snapped at his team about going on a mission tomorrow morning. I've never seen him snap at them like that before…"

"Worried about Laxus, huh?" Makarov asked as he sat down on the counter of the bar between Cana and Mira.

"Master?" Mira asked as she looked up at the short man.

"There's no need to worry your pretty self about my grandson, Mira." The short man said his own bottle of alcohol in hand. "He's always like this around the holidays."

"So what's the scoop on Thunderhead?" Cana asked, kicking her feet like an excited child.

"Oh, some bad memories, I think. Really it isn't my story to tell." Makarov said and took a drink from his bottle.

"Will he be okay, Master?" Mira asked concerned.

"Oh, yes dear. This is just something he has to work out… on his own." The old man responded. Mira let out a heavy sigh.

"You heard the Master, Mira." Cana said as she jumped up from her perch. "It's time to get over the lightning douche and time to enjoy the party!" Cana turned Mira's chair around and pulled the silver haired woman up out of her chair. Mira started giggling and Cana pulled her onto one of the tables and began dancing to an upbeat Christmas song. It wasn't long before Lucy, Levy, Erza and Lisanna were also dragged into dancing on the table in the guild. It was about an hour later that Cana slipped into the back of the guild with a mischievous grin on her face without a single soul noticing.


	2. Chapter 2

This chapter is a little short in my opinion, but it does serve to set up the bulk of the rest of the story. I already have the next chapter in progress, so I hope I won't keep everyone waiting too long. Thanks for reading.

* * *

Laxus wasn't sure how long he had been asleep, just that he was painfully aware of a ticking sound somewhere nearby.

 _Tick… Tick… Tick…_

He groaned and brought one hand to rub his eyes trying to think about what could possibly be making the annoying sound. He cracked one eye open to look around. The fire lacrima was still going, the light was still low, and this window showed it was still dark outside. There was nothing that seemed out of the ordinary as far as Laxus could tell through his bourbon induced haze.

 _"Speaking of bourbon…_ " Laxus thought and turned to look at the side table. There was only about a third of the bottle left. Laxus leaned towards the bottle to finish it off when a new sound caught him off guard.

 _Dong…_

Laxus started looking around the room again with both eyes this time.

 _Dong…_

He stood up looking around his place.

 _Dong…_

It sounded like a clock, like a grandfather clock.

 _Dong… Dong... Dong… Dong…_

"I don't own a clock like that…" Laxus mumbled and moved to his loft where his alarm lacrima sat on the floor next to his bed. He shook the device and listened to it. This wasn't the source of the annoying sound.

 _Dong… Dong… Dong…_

Laxus got back down into his living space and growled in frustration.

 _Dong…_

"Ugh!" Laxus yelled and looked up at the ceiling in frustration. Then he saw it, there on the ceiling: a giant clock. Laxus wasn't sure how he could have missed it.

 _Dong…_

The clock was like a pocket watch and seemed to lie flat against the ceiling so that the watch face was visible. The outer rim was a dark gold, or maybe it was bronze. The hands of clock were formed in an ornate design and were the same dark metallic color. According to this clock, it was midnight.

"Strange place for a clock, isn't it?"

Laxus practically jumped out of his skin. In his drunken haze, he tripped over his own feet and landed in his black leather recliner to look up at the source of the strange voice, which was now laughing at him. Standing in front of him was none other than Jellal Fernandes. The man was dressed in a skin tight base layer shirt with short sleeves that fit on his arms like a second skin and dark cargo style pants complete with brown boots. His messy blue hair fell around his face and was long enough to cover the tops of his ears. The red tattoo over his right eye stood as a colorful contrast to hair and clothes. Jellal was still laughing as he sauntered over the Laxus's recliner.

"Nice place you got here, Laxus." Jellal said with a voice full of mischief. Laxus took a moment to get his bearings before confronting the man in front of him.

"What the hell are you doin' here, Fernandes?" Laxus grumbled as he watched the blue haired man.

"Apparently, I am a person that you have a certain amount of trust in and are willing to take seriously." Jellal said and looked at the mostly empty bottle of bourbon that sat on the table. Jellal picked it up and examined it. "Bourbon, it's a good choice for trying to drown out the misery."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Laxus growled and stood up to take the bottle back from Jellal, who surrendered it without a problem. "Never mind, I don't care anymore. If you're looking to go screw Erza, she's at the guild hall. Get lost."

"As appealing as that might be, I can't leave here yet Laxus." Jellal said and walked over to take a look at the lacrima powered fireplace.

"Why the fuck not?" Laxus asked. All he wanted to do was drink the rest of his bourbon and go back to sleep.

"I am here to give you a warning, Laxus, a warning that you should take seriously." Jellal said and took a step towards the dragon slayer.

"Then spit it out so you can leave me alone." Laxus grunted and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Your attitude sucks, Laxus. You are hurting the people around you in ways that you don't realize." Jellal accused. Laxus growled and charged at the man. He grabbed Jellal by his shirt and threw him up against the wall.

"My attitude sucks?" Laxus sneered. "I am hurting the people around me? Do you realize how that sounds coming from you?" Jellal, instead of being frightened or intimidated just started laughing again.

"What the hell is so funny?" Laxus spat as he got more agitated with his unexpected guest.

"You are Laxus. For a damned dragon slayer, you sure don't use your senses that much." Jellal jeered. He made no movements to try to escape from Laxus's hold. "Think about it, Laxus. You can't smell me. You didn't hear me come in." Laxus took a sniff. Jellal was right; there was no smell that came off of the man. Begrudgingly, he let go of the image of Jellal.

"Then what the hell am I imagining you for?" Laxus asked as he started pacing around his living space.

"Like I said, I'm here to give you a warning." Jellal said as he watched the dragon slayer pace.

"Why are you wasting time then? Give me the damn message so that you can leave." Laxus ordered as he paced.

"You need to change your damn attitude, Laxus before you end up like me; alone and hated." Laxus froze at the man's words and turned to face the blue haired mage.

"You've had a shit experience that you are letting rule your life while you try to drown it with work and alcohol." Jellal continued. "You're going to have three more visitors tonight, Laxus. They will come once every hour. They are going to try to get you to change… for the better."

"And what the hell am I supposed to change?" Laxus growled as he, once again, got frustrated with Jellal and his antics. Jellal chuckled again.

"I don't know, Laxus. Don't you remember?" Jellal laughed as he approached the blonde man. "I'm not even really here."

With another haunting laugh, Jellal was gone in an instant. Laxus turned around looking about the room for the blue haired mage.

"Only you can decide to change, Laxus." Jellal's voice echoed throughout the apartment. "I would change while you still can… before it's too late…"

Laxus ran his hands over his face and through his hair and took a deep breath as he tried to figure out what just happened. People don't just up and disappear. Even mages with teleporting magic leave behind some kind of scent trail…

'Jellal said it himself, I couldn't smell him. I didn't hear him. Is all this just a dream?' Laxus thought and went to go sit back in his recliner.

"That must be it," Laxus repeated to himself. "I must be dreaming. This night is just getting to me. Maybe I should lay off the alcohol before bed."

Laxus shook his head again and stood up to make his way to his loft to sleep on his bed. Laxus tossed off his button up shirt and ditched his pants in favor of a pair of warm pajama pants and a long sleeved thermal shirt. Once changed, the tall blonde collapsed on to his bed and reached for his alarm lacrima.

"Fuck…" He mumbled after setting the alarm to go off at 5:30am in order to wake-up in time to meet his team at the train station in the morning. His alarm lacrima read 12:50am. He would really only get about four hours of sleep, which meant he would be even more miserable when he faced his motion sickness on the train. Laxus dropped the lacrima on the floor and closed his eyes to go to sleep. He hoped that he could get to sleep quickly and leave this damned night behind.


	3. Chapter 3

Laxus felt as if he had barely closed his eyes when he was brought out of his sleepy state by a loud noise.

 _Dong…_

Laxus had thought that it was all just a dream, so when he heard the same sound again, his eyes shot back open. Laxus quickly got up from his bed and looked at the ceiling. The same antique pocket watch was still up on the ceiling. Laxus felt like the clock could have been staring at him.

"It's just a watch kid. I swear it won't bite ya."

Laxus looked down from the loft towards the source of the voice. Sitting in his recliner was the most powerful mage of Fairy Tail: Gildarts Clive. The older man was rather relaxed with his feet put up and hands resting underneath his head. The man looked as ragged as ever, with his messy red hair that had been allowed to grow past his neck and it was obvious that he had not shaved in quite some time. He was still in his travelling clothes with a cloak that had so many holes in it that it was a wonder how it kept the man warm.

"I have got to get me one of these." Gildarts mused and released a heavy and relaxed sigh.

"What is with people today?" Laxus mumbled and rubbed his eyes before jumping down from the loft. Gildarts greeted him with a questioning look. "First Jellal, and now you, don't you people ever knock?"

"Ha, good one kid! I'm a spirit. I don't need to knock." Gildarts explained as he sat up. Gildarts smirked as he grabbed the bottle of bourbon from the table.

"I take it you weren't planning on sharing this with anyone." He chuckled and placed the bottle back down on the table.

"All right, old man, you are going to have to explain a little bit more on what the hell you are doing here." Laxus said as he crossed his arms in front of his chest and walked towards the Crash mage.

"Me?" Gildarts asked with a smirk before standing up and holding his arms out as if the whole situation was self-explanatory. "Can't you tell? I am the spirit of Christmas past."

"I don't know what game you're playing at, old man, but I'm not in the mood." Laxus said and made his way to the door to his apartment as if to show Gildarts out.

"This isn't a game kid." Gildarts said and started following Laxus. "It turns out that you've got some rough shit to your past. Sounds like it's some shit that you need to talk about."

"What part of I'm not in the damn mood don't you understand old man?" Laxus growled as he reached for the door. Gildarts just laughed.

"You don't have much choice in the matter, kid." He chuckled.

"The hell I don't. Now get the fuck out." Laxus said and threw open the door to his apartment. His ears were instantly assaulted by an unexpected uproar of noise. Instead of the sound of a quiet Christmas Eve night, the boisterous sounds that could only be associated with Fairy Tail's guild hall resounded into Laxus's apartment.

"Like I said kid, you don't have a choice." Gildarts chuckled and slapped Laxus on the back before shoving the shocked dragon slayer through the doorway and into the guild hall.

The guild hall was all decked out for the holidays, but not as Laxus had seen it earlier. In fact, this didn't even look like the same guild hall.

"Is this…" Laxus trailed off trying to take in the scene.

"Hell yeah it is. This is Fairy Tail. Well, it's the Fairy Tail from about 20 years ago." Gildarts said with his arm slung around the shoulders of the dragon slayer.

The guild hall was a little different from the way it was today. The current guild hall was mostly stone, whereas this guild hall had wooden beams. It was a lot smaller then and only had two stories. Hanging from the railing of the second floor were garlands and tinsel. A tree stood in the corner, decorated with shiny baubles and lights. It wasn't nearly as extravagant as the guild hall now, but it still had a style that screamed 'Fairy Tail'.

The most obvious difference for Laxus was the people he saw around the guild. There were a lot of faces that he simply didn't recognize. As Laxus looked closer he was able to see a couple faces that might have looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place them. Two teens in particular caught his eye. One teen had light brown hair that was unbelievably curly. He sat at one of the tables wearing a smirk on his face as he held on to a hand of cards. The second teen had messy black hair whose ends stuck straight up. He also held up a hand full of cards. Laxus stared and them curiously unable to place them until the brunette teen brought a cigarette to his mouth.

"Wakaba? And Macao?" Laxus asked and walked closer to observe the two.

"Yup." Gildarts smiled and nudged Laxus forward a bit more. "I think that's you over there, kid."

Laxus looked where Gildarts had pointed and saw a little boy. The kid looked to be about 3 or 4 years old. He had messy blonde hair and was dressed in black pants and red shirt with the shape of a lightning bolt embellished on the front, but the most noticeable feature was the smile on his face. The kid ran around the tables at the guild before running up to the bar to call out to Makarov, who sat in his usual spot on the counter of the bar. At his grandson's request, Makarov used his magic to stretch out his arms and pick the boy up so that he could sit next to him at the bar. Laxus remembered how he used to do that all the time when he was little and couldn't help but smile at the happiness that it brought him.

"Looks like a pretty happy kid there." Gildarts mused as he nudged the dragon slayer.

"Yeah, I guess so." Laxus admitted, but his expression slowly began to darken.

"What's with the frown kid?" Gildarts asked.

"I kinda wish that things hadn't changed." Laxus explained briefly.

"What changed?" Gildarts questioned, but before Laxus could open his mouth to respond, the door to the guild hall opened and the voice of a woman rang through the hall like a soothing silver bell.

"Laxus!" The woman called out, and both Laxus and Gildarts turned towards the woman's voice. Laxus's jaw dropped in shock.

"Mom?" Laxus choked out, while at the same moment his younger self shouted, "Mama!"

Laxus stood dumbfounded as he watched his younger self jump down from the bar counter and run towards the woman. She was a very tall woman, only a few inches shorter than Laxus was and had long and beautiful blonde hair that fell down to her waist. She had such bright blue eyes and a smile that simply lit up the room. She laughed as her son ran up to her and knelt down to embrace the boy. Then, without hesitation, she swept him up and spun in a circle making both of them giggle before placing a kiss on the boy's forehead. She then wasted no time walking right up to the bar still holding the boy in her arms.

"Have you been behaving for your grandfather?" She asked in a mockingly stern tone.

"Yup," the small boy said and started to tell his mother about everything that he did with his grandfather that day. She smiled as she sat the boy next to his grandfather while she listened to his story.

"Your mom, huh?" Gildarts prompted bringing Laxus out of his stunned state.

"Yeah, it's been a long time since I've seen her." Laxus mumbled and took a quick look at Gildarts only to see the man with a shit-eating grin on his face.

"Gildarts… are you… checking out my mom?" Laxus asked with a slightly offended tone.

"No… yes." Gildarts said with a hearty laugh. "Can ya blame me kid? Your mom is hot!"

"What the fuck, old man, that's my mother!" Laxus growled in return, quickly becoming angry.

"Yes she is, but we're getting off topic." Gildarts mused before walking with Laxus closer to the woman and her child. "Were you close with your mom?"

"Yeah," Laxus said turning back to look at his mother. "This was one of the best Christmas's that I ever spent with her."

"What happened to her?" Gildarts asked seriously.

"A couple years after this I got sick, I don't know really what it was, but it was bad. I was really sick." Laxus said and zoned out slightly as he remembered. "My father had heard that there was a way to make me stronger, strong enough to fight the sickness. My mother got so angry; she didn't want to resort to using the dragon lacrima. She didn't want to take the risk that it wouldn't work. She and my father fought back and forth over it for days. My mom wanted to go to Gramps, see if Porlyusica could do anything to help. My father agreed and told her to go for their help and then while she was gone he implanted the dragon lacrima inside me.

When she returned, she was so angry. My body had taken to the magic so quickly; it was like an instant cure. But I couldn't control the magic. It was too much too quickly for a kid so young. Gramps had to take me away to train me how to control it. It took weeks just to get me to a point where I didn't flare out all the time. While I was away, my mom got sick."

Laxus hesitated and turned to look at the happy, healthy woman sitting at the bar. She was laughing as her son was using his whole body to act out part of his story. Laxus let out a heavy sigh before continuing.

"By the time I got back, she was practically on her deathbed. My father had been convinced that he could cure her by taking the lacrima out of me and putting it in her. So he attacked me one day." Laxus said and absentmindedly brought his hand to the scar over his right eye. "Gramps was pissed. He prevented my father from doing that to me and kicked him out of the guild. We tried every treatment that we could for my mom, but nothing worked. She died that Christmas."

"That must have been one crappy Christmas." Gildarts hummed.

"I guess that's one way to put it." Laxus huffed.

"Well if you're looking to connect with a group of people with mommy and daddy issues, Fairy Tail is the place to be." Gildarts said with a smirk.

"What they hell is that supposed to mean, old man?" Laxus said as he turned to look at the Crash mage.

"Well, let's take a look?" Gildarts replied and snapped his fingers. Just like that the scene around him had changed. It was still Christmas but at a different time. The decorations hadn't changed that much from year to year, but the people had changed drastically. One of the faces Laxus recognized immediately was Reedus as he sat by the bar attempting to paint the Christmas scene, something that Reedus did every year despite the fact that the guild never really changed. That thought made Laxus smirk to himself.

The next face that caught his eye was that of Wakaba, still smoking a cigarette as he drank merrily. Laxus didn't have to look too far to find Macao who sat nearby with his fingers entwined with a pretty short haired brunette. The Macao and the young woman looked pretty happy and Laxus noticed how the woman's hand occasionally came to rest on her swollen stomach. If Laxus remembered correctly, Romeo was born only a few days later.

Not too far from the happy couple, Laxus saw what at first looked like a small stampede. Upon closer inspection, Laxus was able to see that it was a group of young mages roughhousing. He could distinctly see a young Gray and Natsu rolling around on the floor as they tried to get the upper hand on each other. Standing close by was Lisanna who was holding on to a tiny blue kitten, Happy. Happy could be heard cheering for Natsu. Sitting on the table next to the fighting duo was a tiny blue haired girl which could only be Levy, with her hair pushed back with a headband. Next to her sat Cana in a conservative dress, certainly more conservative than what she wore around the guild as an adult. Cana could be heard shouting out "Gray, your clothes!" while a white haired boy close by shouted back, "He's a real man!" A young Erza sat at the table a bit further away from the chaos of the brawling kids. She seemed too enthralled by a piece of strawberry cake to take notice of the brawl and instead hummed happily to herself and kicked her feet slightly as she hummed.

"Now there's a goofy looking teen if I ever saw one." Gildarts jested and nudged Laxus to get his attention. Sure enough, standing at the bar watching the scene was a teenage Laxus. He was taller now, only a few inches shorter than as an adult. He wore baggy pants and a long sleeved shirt under his t-shirt and his sound pod headphones sat over his ears. The teen had a mildly amused look on his face.

"Do you remember this Christmas?" Gildarts asked.

"This must have been the Christmas just after I made S-class." Laxus commented. "What's so special about this Christmas?"

"Well it is a lot different from the last Christmas we visited." Gildarts said trying to trigger Laxus's memory.

"I guess," Laxus said, still not sure what it is that Gildarts wants him to notice. "I mean there are a ton more kids around now."

"Don't knock the kids, these kids are important and they have been through a lot." Gildarts defended. "I mean most of them have grown up without any parents and will now have to be raised by the guild. You've got a lot in common with these kids."

"I guess I never thought of it that way." Laxus admitted. "To me they were just kids. I never thought of reaching out to them. I saw them as being so much younger than I was, I didn't feel like I had anything to talk about with them."

"You'd be surprised how much trauma can mature a person." Gildarts commented. "Age is just a number after all. Don't you see anyone who you think you could connect to?"

Laxus looked across the room and the kids as they ran around, fighting and playing. Laxus tried as much as he could to find someone he could connect to on a deeper level.

"Huh, for a dragon slayer with your heightened senses, you sure are oblivious." Gildarts laughed and pointed towards the opposite end of the bar. Laxus turned to follow Gildarts pointed finger. At the end of the bar on the very last stool was a small cloaked figure sitting in front of Makarov. It appeared as though the two were having a conversation. Curious, Laxus ventured over to see what his grandfather was discussing with this mysterious figure.

"Control will come in time, my dear." Makarov said as he put down the stein he had been drinking from indicating to the bar maid that he's like a refill.

"I thought that I had finally gotten it, Master." A sweet voice replied to the old man.

"There is no need to be hard on yourself. I have the upmost faith that you will not only be able to control your magic, but that you will become a powerful mage." Makarov said with a reassuring smile.

"Really?" The girl asked. Laxus furrowed his brow trying to place the sweet girl's voice.

"I want you to look down the bar here." Makarov said with a smile. "You see that blonde haired young man down there?" The girl turned to look down like Makarov instructed. As soon as the girl turned to look, Laxus could see her big blue eyes and white hair.

"Mira?" Laxus said in confusion. Gildarts just nodded.

"Yeah, I see him." The young Mirajane responded.

"That is my grandson, Laxus." Makarov explained. "You see when he was younger he also came into a powerful magic that he couldn't control. He struggled for a long time to be able to control his magic. This year he passed the S-class exams. He is not much older than you are, young lady."

"Really?" Mira asked with an air of amazement. Makarov nodded and took a drink from his refilled stein. "Do you really think that I could be an S-class mage one day, master?"

"I do." Makarov said and Mira looked back at the short guild master with a look of hope shining in her eyes. "Now child, it's Christmas! You shouldn't have to hide that pretty face of yours under this cloak. Go on and be with the other children. Or go and talk with Laxus. I am sure that the two of you will get along just fine."

"Thank you, master." Mira said with a smile and brought her hands up to lift the hood of her cloak off her face. She quickly hid her demonized hand under the cloak and turned to walk towards the other kids.

"I never knew." Laxus said with a quiet voice and he turned to look at his teenage self.

"Which part?" Gildarts asked and crossed his arms over his chest. The two watched as Mira walked towards the rambunctious kids, selecting a table slightly away from the group. She still appeared to be too shy to socialize openly with the other children, but wanted to be part of the moment. "The part where she struggled with a magic that she didn't understand. Or the part where she had to try to protect her siblings when their parents died? Or maybe the part where she was ostracized and ridiculed because people thought that she was a demon? Or was it that part where ―"

"I get it! Alright!" Laxus shouted and pounded his hands on the bar.

"Do you?" Gildarts continued after the dragon slayer. "Take a good look at that girl over there kid."

Laxus looked over where Mira sat and was astounded to find that she was looking right at his teenage form.

"Did you know that she looked up to you? You were her inspiration for being able to control her magic, and I guarantee that she saw what you thought you hid from everyone." Gildarts said with a touch of anger in his voice. "She saw the misery and the anger that you thought no one saw or understood."

Laxus watched as the young Mira followed his teenage form as he left the guild early, just like he did every Christmas. The admiration in her eyes visibly turned to concern.

"How much longer was it before you stopped coming around for Christmas? Three years?" Gildarts accused. "Knowing Mira the way you know her now, do you think she ever stopped caring? Do you think she ever stopped worrying?"

"I get it! I was so wrapped up in my own pain that I didn't see what was right in front of me." Laxus yelled at the Crash mage and pounded his hands into the bar counter again. "But what the fuck can I do about it now?"

"I can't hold your hand for you, kid." Gildarts said and grabbed Laxus by the shoulders forcing Laxus to turn and face the man. "You're on your own."

With that, Gildarts pushed the dragon slayer. Laxus expected to land on the ground from the force of the push, and was beyond shocked when he bounced on his bed. Laxus looked around frantic to find that he was back at his apartment and no longer at the guild hall. Laxus was breathing heavily from his emotional outburst and the rush of adrenaline.

"Tick, tock, kid. Your next visitor comes at two." The disembodied voice of Gildarts floated through Laxus's apartment and sent a chill down the dragon slayer's spine. Laxus looked up where the large antiqued pocket watch was stuck on the ceiling.

According to the watch, it was 1:55 in the morning.


	4. Chapter 4

**I apologize for how late this came out. I am currently in recovery from back surgery and had a bad couple of days. It makes it hard to sit and focus on the writing. Thanks for the patience.**

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Laxus jumped up from his bed. He didn't know what he was going to do in the five minutes that he had, but he was too worked up to just sit in bed. His breathing had not returned to normal from his experience with Gildarts, or the spirit, or whatever the hell that was. It left him on edge, which was a very rare feeling for the dragon slayer to have. It was as if someone had taken his usual calm demeanor and torn it to pieces. He really felt as though he had no control over the situation at all. He didn't like it this feeling. He was used to being in control. He was always in control.

Laxus was shaken. He jumped down from his loft and started pacing. He hadn't been this worked up over something in years and the fact that this whole night was getting to him just pissed him off. In an angry outburst, Laxus grabbed what was left of his bottle of bourbon and threw it against the wall near his fire lacrima. The bottle shattered spilling glass and liquor about the room. Laxus then threw himself into his recliner and ran his hands through his hair as if the action would somehow calm his nerves and sooth his soul. The blonde took a couple of deep breaths with his face in his hands.

 _Dong._

Two things happened in quick succession, so quickly that at first it seemed that the two actions happened at the same time. First, came the second _dong_ that indicated that the clock had struck two. The second, and slightly more startling for the dragon slayer, was a knock on his door. Laxus looked up from his hands and at the door to his apartment with hesitancy.

'Who would be at the door at two in the morning?' Laxus thought and just when he believed that he had imagined the sound, a firm knock came to the door again. He got up and walked over to the door. He had never bothered with a peep hole nor did he bother with locking the door while he was home, mostly because he was far more dangerous than anything that could possibly be at his door-step. Instead, he swung the door open and opened his mouth to brow-beat the soul who decided that 2 am would be the time to disturb him only to find that there was no one there. Laxus took a sniff to try and identify any prankster that may be about, but his senses picked up nothing. Laxus shook his head and closed the door.

Laxus thought that it was strange, not the strangest thing that happened to him that night, but still strange. Laxus looked up, thinking that he would try to return to bed and salvage some form of rest, when something in the center of his apartment began catching light from his fire lacrima.

It was a gift. A large box wrapped in shiny silver colored wrapping paper and decorated with a large red ribbon along the sides that also served to secure the lid of the box with a bow. The square box was tall enough that it stood well past the knees of the tall man. He knew that the present had not been there before he answered the door. He approached the gift cautiously as if the box would lash out or try to attack him. Just as Laxus began thinking that the box was likely safe, the top of the box flew off of its own accord.

"Merry Christmas!" The cheerful shout was accompanied by handfuls of glitter and confetti as Fairy Tail's first guild master jumped inside the gift box. The child-like Mavis Vermillion was completely aglow with excitement and she was clearly in the mood for Christmas. Her normal robe was substituted for one of red velvet with white fuzzy trim. Instead of her normal wing-like hair accessories, her light blonde hair was tied back with clips that looked like holly leaves, complete with small red berries.

"You have got to be fucking with me…" Laxus mumbled and placed his forehead in his hand.

"Why is it so dark in here, Laxus?" Mavis asked cheerfully as she climbed her way out of the gift box.

"I like it that way, what are you doing?" Laxus asked with an aggravated sigh.

"I am the spirit of Christmas present, silly!" Mavis said with a giggle. "Speaking of Christmas, you're missing everything! Come on, let's go!" She said and took hold of the dragon slayer's free hand.

"Mavis, it's two in the morning and I have to be at the train station in five hours. Besides, I'm not in the Christmas mood. There's no point in bringing everyone else down too." Laxus complained as he resisted Mavis's pull. Mavis stopped pulling on the man as a mischievous grin formed on her face.

"Don't you remember, Laxus?" Mavis said and snapped her fingers. "You don't have a choice!"

Mavis started pulling Laxus again. This time he was shocked to find his feet leaving the ground. Laxus looked at Mavis in shock to find that her feet had left the ground as well. She just giggled at the blonde man as she shouted, "Let's go!"

Mavis kicked her feet and sped off through the air at an incredible speed, dragging an alarmed Laxus along with her. Laxus was sure he was going to collide with his apartment door and was astounded to find that both he and Mavis passed right through it.

"Is this some kind of illusion magic?" Laxus questioned as he and Mavis flew through the town of Magnolia.

"Does this feel like an illusion to you?" Mavis replied. Laxus thought for a moment. He could feel the cold wind against his face right at that moment, though he swore just seconds before that he couldn't feel the cold at all. This didn't make sense at all. If this was an illusion, he shouldn't be able to feel the cold or smell the familiar scents of the town.

"Laxus, stop trying to figure this out and go with the moment!" Mavis said as if she could sense his confusion and then with a giggle and flew towards the guild hall with increased speed, dragging Laxus the whole way. The two didn't slow down until they were within a few feet of the guild hall. At that point Mavis slowed her speed and landed gracefully. Laxus landed next to her and only then did the first guild master let go of his hand.

"If you think about things too much, they start to cloud your vision and keep you from seeing what's really important." Mavis said and pushed Laxus through the doors of the guild hall.

The hall was just as busy as when Laxus had left it earlier that afternoon. Now that all the decorations were up, the guild hall was a sight to behold. The Christmas tree was completely covered in twinkling lights in a number of colors and someone had topped the tree with an ornament in the shape of the Fairy Tail symbol and it had been enchanted to change colors. The stockings hung on the wall to one side of the guild so that all the stockings were within reach, and anyone looking at the arrangement could tell that at one point Gajeel had been allowed to hang the remainder of the stockings without Wendy's supervision. The neat rows that started on one side of the wall had deteriorated into random spots on the other end. The traditional garlands of holly were strung from every banister and railing within the hall. Holly berries had been added in random spots, and if you looked close enough, you could see a couple of fish scattered within the holly. Juvia had indeed set up random spots of mistletoe throughout the guild. Up at the bar, glasses upon glasses of eggnog were poured out for anyone to come up to grab and Kinana could be seen throughout the hall passing out mugs of hot cocoa. Along several tables were a variety of sweet treats and delicious foods set out for anyone to take.

"Go on!" Mavis cheered and gave Laxus the biggest shove she could manage.

"What do you want me to do?" Laxus asked with the agitation clear in his voice.

"Get involved. Listen to people. Live in the moment!" Mavis encouraged. Laxus sighed and looked about the room. He could see Nastu and Gray arguing with each other while Lucy, Erza, and Levy sat nearby talking excitedly. Gajeel was walking towards the group of girls while trying to balance several mugs of hot cocoa in his hands. Wendy and Romeo were playing a board game of some kind as Carla, Happy, and Pantherlily watched from the side-lines. Reedus could be spotted near the bar, still painting, just like he did every year. Sitting on the bar near Reedus was his grandfather, Makarov. The guild master's cheeks were red, indicating that the old man had already had far too much to drink. Lisanna had changed into a more festive looking outfit that made her look like she was an elf, complete with bells that dangled from her shoes and the bright green hat on her head. She stood behind the bar and appeared to be helping out Kinana. At a table near the bar sat the three members of the Thunder Legion. Laxus smirked and made his way over to the three mages.

"So what are we going to do guys?" Evergreen asked with a slightly worried tone. Laxus paused to listen to their conversation.

"Laxus gave us the option, Evergreen." Freed said and took a drink of his eggnog. "If you don't want to go on the mission with him, you don't have to go."

"Yeah, that was more of tantrum than anything." Bixslow mumbled rather seriously. This was something Laxus had hardly ever seen. Bixslow being serious was startling and certainly set the mood of the whole conversation.

"Exactly!" Evergreen exclaimed. "We all know that Laxus really doesn't want to be alone!"

"I am sure Laxus has his reasons for wanting to take this mission." Freed defended.

"Sure," Bixslow commented, "It probably is the same reason he doesn't want to hang around here around Christmas." Bixslow emptied the remainder of his stein. Laxus was taken aback. Clearly, he was a fool for believing that his aversion to the holiday went unobserved.

"He needs to get over this." Evergreen said in an exasperated tone. "And I really don't want to go! We haven't been at the guild for a Christmas in so long."

"Laxus needs to recognize that his behavior is a problem before he is willing to 'get over this'. Until then, all we can do as his companions is to be there for him." Freed explained dryly. "If you do not wish to go, I am sure that he will understand."

"You know that I want to be there for him." Evergreen sighed and began to play with her empty mug. "But…"

"But you never had a reason to stay before." Bixslow said and threw a comforting arm around the fairy mage.

"What is she talking about?" Laxus mumbled.

"Evergreen started a pretty serious relationship with Elfman, though they are keeping it under wraps right now." Mavis said as she popped up from just under Laxus's elbow.

"Elfman?" Laxus questioned.

"Yup." Mavis said with a smile.

"I think you should talk about it with Elfman," Bixslow said as he dropped his arm around the woman. "I'm sure that he'll understand."

"It's stupid that I would even have to have this conversation." Evergreen said with a voice full of frustration.

"It is what it is." Freed said and the conversation between the mages died down.

"I don't get it." Laxus said. "If she wants to stay with Elfman, then she should stay with him. What does me going on a mission have to do with this?"

"Laxus," Mavis said with a shake of her head. "These three are not just part of your team. They are your friends. They can see how much the holidays upset you. What kind of friends would they be if they left you by yourself?"

"I'm an S-class mage. I can take care of myself." Laxus complained and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Not physically, silly." Mavis said with a giggle. "You have emotional needs that have to be taken care of too."

"Hey Lisanna." Bisca called, which caught Laxus's attention. Bisca was standing at the bar counter with Asuka asleep on her shoulder. Laxus walked towards the mother and daughter as Lisanna approached the two.

"Hey Bisca, can I get something for you?" Lisanna asked with a smile.

"I was wondering… do you know if Laxus is planning on being by the guild tomorrow?" Bisca asked.

"I think Mira said that he was going to be leaving for a mission in the morning, so I'm not really sure. Why, what's up?" Lisanna replied.

"Well Asuka made a Christmas card for him. We ran into him on the way to the guild and he was in a foul mood to say the least. When we got here, Asuka decided that making him this card would brighten his day. I just wanted to make sure that he got it." Bisca explained and pulled out the craft project to hand to Lisanna.

"Oh, how sweet!" Lisanna cooed and looked at the card. "I'll have to talk to Mira, she would know better than I would, but we may just put it into his stocking for when he gets back."

"Where is Mira? Doesn't she usually run bar on Christmas?" Bisca questioned and started looking around the guild for the missing woman. Laxus started looking around curiously as well.

"Oh she went with Cana and Elfman to drop off presents at the orphanage." Lisanna said and she placed the card meant for Laxus behind the counter. "But she was running the bar earlier today. I told her that I could take over for her tonight. She works hard enough, she could use a break."

"Oh, I was hoping to say good-night before taking the little one home." Bisca said indicating the sleeping child in her arms.

"Did Natsu and Happy wear her out?" Lisanna asked with a giggle.

"Yes he did. It's great that everyone here is so helpful with Asuka, but I really wish she had someone her own age to play with." Bisca said. Asuka shifted slightly in her sleep and cuddled closer to her mother. Bisca smiled down at her daughter. At that moment, Alzack came up to his wife and child. He kissed Bisca's forehead lovingly.

"Ready to go?" He asked and Bisca nodded before turning back to Lisanna. "Thanks Lisanna, tell your brother and sister I said good-night."

"Will do! Good-night guys!" Lisanna said and moved down the bar to continue with work.

"Isn't she sweet?" Mavis said with a big smile.

"She made me a card." Laxus said slightly dumbfounded. "Why would she do that?"

"Asuka is a child, Laxus. She sees the world in such simple terms. You were upset and she wanted to make you feel better. So far, she had been untouched by so much of the tragedy that all of our guild members have faced." Mavis turned to look at the family as they made their way out of the guild. "She doesn't understand that we can carry pain in our hearts for longer than just a day. She doesn't understand that the kind of hurt you carry can't be cured with a kiss."

Laxus watched as the trio left warmth of the guild for their trek to their home. His thoughts lingered on what Mavis had said. How long had he really been carrying this pain with him? How long had he been pushing this pain onto others? His team, how long had they been sacrificing their comfort for his friendship?

Laxus was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of laughter that entered the guild. He looked up to see Elfman, Cana, and Mira enter the guild. The three of them had huge smiles on their faces as they started to shed their layers that kept them warm during their walk in the cold. Laxus's gaze fell on to Mira. She always had a smile on her face. Even when she was in pain, she found the strength to keep up a smile.

"How does she do it?" Laxus asked. Mavis looked at him with a mischievous smirk.

"Mira gets her strength from her family. But Mira doesn't see Lisanna and Elfman as her only family, Fairy Tail is her family. She gets strength from the love that she feels for her family. It holds her together." Mavis explained as she and Laxus watched the three mages.

Elfman had separated from the two women and walked towards the bar. Evergreen had gotten up when he entered and the two walked off to a more secluded part of the guild. Cana had grabbed Mira's hand and entwined their fingers before dragging her towards the bar. Cana grabbed a bottle from behind the bar as well as two glasses before dragging Mira upstairs and away from the boisterousness of the guild.

"Let's go listen!" Mavis whispered excitedly, though Laxus wasn't entirely sure why she was whispering, and started to drag Laxus with her to follow the women upstairs. As they reached the second floor, they found Cana and Mira at a table near the railing where Cana had poured Mira a glass of the pink colored liquor.

"Alright Mira, spill it, something is throwing you off more than usual." Cana said and filled her own glass before placing the bottle down on the table.

"Oh, I don't know…" Mira mumbled and took a sip of her drink.

"Don't give me that bull shit, Mira. Don't make me pull out my cards on you." Cana threatened which made Mira giggle.

"Okay, okay." Mira said and raised her hands up in an exaggerated surrender. "It's about Laxus."

"Yeah, what about him?" Cana asked.

"I just… there's something different." Mira stumbled for words to describe how she felt.

"Oh my Gods!" Cana gasped and reached out to grab the woman's hand again. "You love him! And now you know it!" Cana exclaimed in a hushed voice.

"What do you mean, 'and now I know'?" Mira asked as her cheeks grew bright red.

"Oh please," Cana said as she rolled her eyes. "You have been checking out that lightning ass since you were 14. Don't you dare try and deny it!"

"Well… he does have a nice ass…" Mira admitted with embarrassment.

"Wait… Mira likes me?" Laxus questioned as Cana continued to tease Mira about the whole situation.

"Wow, for a dragon slayer you sure are dense when it comes to this stuff huh?" Mavis said with a giggle. "Though now that I think about it, Gajeel and Natsu can be just as dense…"

"So the big question is, what are you going to do about it, baby doll?" Cana asked before bringing the glass to her lips and taking a drink.

"What do you mean, what am I going to do about it?" Mira asked.

"You know what I mean, Mira. Don't play dumb." Cana said and leaned back in her chair.

"I don't think there's anything to do." Mira said as a wave of sadness came over her. "I don't think there's anything I can do…"

"Oh come on Mira, you don't honestly think that, do you? You do realize how hot you are right? I find it hard to believe that Laxus, or any man for that matter, isn't attracted to you." Cana complained.

"That's the problem, Cana." Mira sighed and began looking at her fingers instead of up at her friend. "I can't just put my feelings aside and accept a physical relationship like that. I need something more than that…"

"Do you think that Laxus is even capable of that kind relationship?" Cana asked as she drained her glass.

"I don't know…" Mira gave a heavy sigh.

"What do you think Laxus?" Mavis asked the dumbstruck dragon slayer. "Are you capable of more than just a physical relationship?"

Laxus looked away from the women and began pacing. He ran his hands through his hair as if it would help clear his thoughts and senses.

"And I guess the more important question, are you prepared for the consequences if you can't?" Mavis said as her voice took a darker undertone.

"I guess you have a lot to think about, don't you Laxus." Mavis said in the same dark tone. Then suddenly her face broke into her sweet and mischievous smile. "Time for bed!" She exclaimed.

"No, wait. I'm not done yet!" Laxus yelled as Mavis clapped her hands. The next thing he knew, Laxus was reaching his hand out about to open the door to his apartment. Mira and the guild hall were long gone and instead he was left with his darkly lit apartment and his thoughts.


	5. Chapter 5

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! I am already working on the last chapter. I will try to get it out tonight or tomorrow. Thanks for reading.

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"No…" Laxus mumbled with his hand still outstretched attempting to reach something that wasn't there anymore. "I wasn't done. Take me back!" Laxus mumbled.

There was no one there. He opened his door and there was no one there either. He closed the door and turned back inside into his living space. The gift box that once held Mavis was gone. Laxus sat in his recliner with his head in his hands. He had so much to think about: Evergreen and Elfman, Asuka, and Mira… Mira.

Mira was upset. She felt like there was no chance with him, not because he didn't like her, but because he couldn't put forth his emotions. He was closed off to everyone and everything, and she knew it. It seemed like everyone knew it, but him.

 _Dong…_

 _Dong…_

 _Dong…_

Laxus hardly reacted to the sound that signaled a spirit was coming to meet him. It wasn't that he hadn't heard it. He heard the sound all too clearly. It was that there were too many things on his mind to focus on who could possibly show up. He only looked up when he felt as though the air had become abnormally still.

Laxus's gaze was met with a pair of dark eyes and a face hidden behind dark green cloth. Azure spikes of hair could be seen poking out from under the cloth and hints of a tattoo around peeked around the right eye.

"Mystogan?" Laxus asked, though he was positive that it was Mystogan who stood before him. The man was almost completely covered with wraps of cloth under his clothing and several staffs remained secure to his back.

Mystogan nodded in response to Laxus's question.

"But you aren't really Mystogan, are you?" Laxus questioned. Mystogan shook his head.

"And you have something that is important for me to see?" Laxus assumed. Mystogan nodded and crossed his arms over his chest.

"And I don't have a choice about the matter, do I?" Laxus said as a statement more than a question. Regardless, Mystogan shook his head.

"Are you planning on saying anything at all to me?" Laxus asked. Mystogan raised a single eyebrow in response. "I'll take that as a no…" Laxus mumbled and stood up from his chair.

"Where are we going then?" Laxus asked. Mystogan took a staff from his back and tapped it on the floor twice. Just in front of the two men, a swirling vortex opened in Laxus's apartment. Mystogan held out his arm indicating that Laxus should walk through. Laxus gave a huge sigh before walking in to the swirling void.

Laxus emerged from the vortex to find himself in the midst of Fairy Tail's Christmas Day celebration. Just like with the previous spirits, Laxus could only tell when he was by the people who were socializing about the guild hall. Laxus was a little dumbstruck when he found the familiar faces of Macao and Wakaba.

"Am I in the future?" Laxus asked Mystogan when the man also emerged from the swirling vortex. Mystogan nodded and tapped his staff twice again to close the void through which they had travelled.

The Macao and Wakaba had aged considerably as both men had completely greyed. Wakaba sat smoking from an elongated pipe with his feet up on the table and stein in his free hand. Laxus supposed that there were some things that never changed. Macao sat nearby, though Laxus noticed the child sitting in his lap, a boy maybe around five or six years old. The child, who Laxus could only assume was his grandchild, was talking excitedly to the two old men. He was very similar looking to Romeo, they shared the same hair style and facial structure, but the striking blue hair gave the boy a striking appearance.

Laxus didn't have a chance to think about the boy much longer because a group of about ten kids ran past him. The kids were all too active for him to look at each one of them individually, but there were distinct features that Laxus recognized as belonging to different guild members. He could see Gajeel's thick and messy hair on a little girl; Evergreen's sandy colored locks on a pair of twin boys; the trademark Strauss white hair adorned three girls, all different ages; a girl that Laxus could have sworn was Erza; and two of the kids had the distinct bubblegum pink hair.

Laxus followed the kids as they ran by the bar when he saw the woman that had been on his mind. Mira was sitting at the bar rocking a silver haired baby in her arms. Laxus approached the woman hesitantly. There was something inside him that wondered if the baby was hers, and that same something inside of him felt hurt at the possibility that the baby wasn't his.

"So precious," Mira cooed as she rocked the sleeping child. It was then that Lisanna approached her sister. Lisanna looked different too. Her hair had grown longer and she appeared to have matured a little in the time that had passed.

"Thanks, sis." Lisanna said and she sat down next to her sister. "I'll take him now. I know that you want to get going." Mira gave the small boy a kiss before handing the baby back to her sister.

"I'll be back in a few hours." Mira said and gave her sister a hug.

"I know. We'll see you then." Lisanna said and with that Mira put on her coat and went to leave the guild. Laxus followed close behind and noticed immediately that somber look that came across the woman's features. Laxus took a quick look behind him to see that Mystogan was following them like a silent and brooding specter.

Laxus followed as Mira walked behind Cardia Cathedral and made her way past the graves and head stones. Mira walked along towards a gravestone, if it had been spring or summer than the grave would have stood in the shadow of a tree. However in the cold winter, the trees had lost its foliage and the snow dusted the top of the graves and the frost obscured the name on the grave. Mira kneeled in front of the grave released a heavy sigh before taking her gloved hand and brushed the frost away to reveal the name on the headstone: Laxus Dreyer.

"What?" Laxus whispered and looked at Mystogan, who came to stand beside him. Laxus turned to question the specter. "How did this happen?"

Mystogan didn't give an answer and pointed at the gravestone.

"Hey Laxus." Mira sighs and starts talking to the gravestone. "It's been a year since people gave up on trying to find you. Apparently after you are missing for ten years, you are declared dead." Mira sniffled and wiped a stray tear from one of her eyes.

"But not everyone has given up." Mira said with a strained smile. "Freed thinks he found someone who might be able to track you down. They specialize in missing persons who disappeared due to magical mishaps. I've got a good feeling about this one… I think Freed feels guilty for letting you go on that mission alone. He still doesn't want to talk about it. I make sure that he comes back to the guild so that he can eat and rest."

"I've been missing for 10 years?" Laxus asked as he glanced at Mystogan. Mystogan nodded.

"And Mira is still waiting for me to return…" Laxus mumbled. Mystogan nodded in return.

"Why?" Laxus asked with confusion laced in his voice. Mystogan pointed to Laxus's chest.

"Mira is willing to throw away her life on the chance that I may still be alive?" Laxus said, not looking at Mystogan to see his response. "You stupid woman! Why would you do this to yourself?"

"I know that Cana thinks I should give up on you, that maybe you don't want to be found. But I can't do it…" Mira said and tears fell freely from her eyes. "I can't do it Laxus. I can't think that way. I can't believe that you died before I got a chance to tell you how I feel. So I refuse to give up!" Mira cried as she reached her hand out to touch the headstone.

"I don't want you to do this Mira." Laxus whispered and kneeled down beside the woman. "You should be allowed to move on without me."

Laxus reached out to try and touch Mira's hand, only to find that he passed right through her as if he was a ghost.

"By the way, I got you something." Mira said through her tears. She put a hand into her pocket and pulled out a small lacrima that could fit completely in the palm of her hand. She gave a small smile that that she followed up with a sob. She let it rest on the snow in front of the grave marker. "It's some music stored on a lacrima. You can adapt it to use with your sound pod." Mira wiped the fresh tears from her face and tried her best to put on a smile. "Merry Christmas, Laxus."

"What kind of sick game is this?" Laxus growled and turned on Mystogan. "You! You, Mavis, Gildarts, and Jellal. You think that this is fun? To put people through this? This isn't normal." Laxus claimed angrily.

Mystogan watched Laxus as he began to fell into his anger. He stood with his arms crossed and didn't show a single emotion as Laxus continued to get worked up.

"This isn't fair to them!" Laxus growled. "No, wait… This is the future. This hasn't happened yet. I can fix this, I can fix all of this." Laxus jumped up and grabbed Mystogan by his shirt. "Take me back. Take me back to the guild before all of this happened."

Mystogan unfolded his arms. He raised a single eyebrow and a blinding flash surrounded them, blinding the dragon slayer. Laxus released Mystogan and raised his arms up to cover is eyes.

Laxus found himself on the cold ground. The smell of freshly fallen snow overwhelmed his senses. He could hear the sounds of the bell at Cardia Cathedral indicating the time.

 _Ding…dong…_

 _Ding… dong…_

 _Ding…dong…_

 _Ding…dong…_

It was four. Laxus's eyes shot open and he jumped up. He was in his long thermal and warm pajama bottoms, but it was not nearly warm enough, especially with the snow against his bare feet. He was not in his apartment. When he looked around he was outside of Fairy Tail's guild hall. It was dark, which meant that it had to be four in the morning.

"Laxus?" The blonde man turned around as if he were about to be attacked. Instead he found Makarov, standing there completely bundled up with coats, scarves, and a hat on his head.

"Gramps…" Laxus murmured. He ran a hand through his hair and snow fell from his head.

"Laxus, what are you doing out here in the snow with no shoes on? You will make yourself sick that way." Makarov scolded as he went to open the doors of the guild. Laxus suddenly remembered the visiting spirits and what they had shown him. He was suddenly hit with a sense of urgency.

"Gramps, what day is it?" Laxus practically yelled at the old man. Makarov gave his grandson a questioning look before answering.

"It's Christmas day, my boy. Are you alright Laxus?" Makarov asked with genuine concern.

"There's still time… I've got to go Gramps!" Laxus said and broke into a run away from the guild.

Makarov watched his grandson run away in a hurry and shook his head.

"I don't know what has gotten into that boy…" He mumbled and went into the guild hall.


	6. Chapter 6

Laxus stood out in the snow in front of the train station. The place was practically deserted with the exception of a few reluctant workers who were busy fueling trains that were set to leave or prepping the rails for trains due to arrive. He was wrapped up tight in his plain black winter coat as he made his way towards a bench to wait for the members of The Thunder Legion to arrive. As he sat down and watched the workers as they moved about the station. His ears perked when he heard the sound of footsteps through the snow get louder.

Trudging along towards the train station was Freed, who walked side by side with Bixslow. Both men were covered in an extra layer of clothes. Freed had a white scarf that was wrapped around his neck and tucking into his red coat. He had matching white gloves that protected his hands from the cold. Bixslow wore a heavy black cloak that he pulled close to himself. His babies floated alongside him as they approached the blonde dragon slayer. Walking a few steps behind the two men was Evergreen. She kept pace with her companions, but her mood was one of disappointment. Laxus could feel the sobriety in the mood of the three mages as they stood before him.

"Good morning, Laxus." Freed greeted. Laxus nodded in greeting not sure exactly how to say what he felt needed to be said. Bixslow and Freed shared a glance at Laxus's reaction. Freed looked back at Laxus. "Shall I go purchase tickets?"

"I'm an ass." Laxus said suddenly and brought the sleeve of his coat to scratch at his nose. Laxus didn't look at them as he spoke, opting to stare at his feet instead. "I've been a fool. I have taken you guys for granted. You have followed me and protected me more than I have realized and in return I have asked more and more of you without taking into consideration your needs. I don't even know why you still want to follow me." Laxus felt his own eyes water slightly and had a sudden need to sniffle. "I'm sorry…"

Bixslow's and Freed's jaws dropped. They had never before seen the blonde man apologize for anything so to see that he had not only apologized, but that it brought the man to tears was dumbfounding. Evergreen looked up at Laxus with narrowed eyes as she stepped forward while Bixslow and Freed moved out of her way. She stood in front of Laxus for a long moment before raising her hand to slap the lightning dragon slayer.

"Do you have any idea how miserable I have been over the past day? Do you know how long I agonized over the damn decision to follow you on this damn mission?" Evergreen yelled at the blonde as both Freed and Bixslow cringed at the woman's words. "Do you know how many years we watched you struggle every Christmas? Do you know how much we worried about your well-being? And all you have to say in 'I'm sorry'?"

Laxus stood there as Evergreen flung her accusations disguised as questions at him. He felt the shame of his selfishness sink into his skin. He couldn't look at them anymore, so he closed his eyes and bowed his head as moisture built up in his eyes. He expected to hear that the words weren't enough. Laxus expected for the three of them to walk away from him because it was too late for forgiveness. It was too late for him to change their minds.

This was not what he expected.

"Took you long enough…" Evergreen said with an angry sob before she flung herself at the dragon slayer to bring him into an emotion fill embrace. Laxus opened his eyes in astonishment and his jaw dropped as he found Evergreen hugging him fiercely. Bixslow cackled before coming in closer to embrace Laxus. Freed flashed a grin before also joining in the group hug.

"I swear Laxus," Evergreen said while still embracing the shocked man. "If you ever do something like this again, I will murder you in the most painful way I know how." This statement caused the three men to laugh, though Laxus knew the threat really was serious.

"I need to make things right…" Laxus said as the four mages finally broke away from their embrace. "But, I need your help."

"Am I correct to assume that you have something planned?" Freed questioned and Laxus nodded in response.

"I've got a couple ideas."

Makarov was confused to say the very least. It was several hours ago that he found his grandson in his pajamas outside of the guild hall, and Laxus's behavior had been just as odd since. He had come to Fairy Tail's guild hall, more appropriately dressed, and he started giving out instructions to the members of The Thunder Legion. Bixslow had started filling stockings with goodies until they were overstuffed. Freed started placing runes around the hall so that when someone passed the enchanted writing magic snow would appear to swirl around them. Evergreen was busy adding presents under the tree. When more guild members started showing up, Evergreen did what she could to help out wherever needed. Once Laxus had given out orders, he practically skipped away with a stupid grin on his face saying that he would be back soon. Makarov took the opportunity to question the three mages that were left behind, but none of them confessed to the reason behind Laxus's strange behavior.

More and more people began to wander into the guild hall to take part in the festivities and Laxus hadn't returned yet.

When Mira arrived, she was a little shocked that the Thunder Legion was still here. She assumed that they would have left in the morning like Laxus had said. Curiosity led her to Makarov, who was sitting at the bar watching the guild hall with a sense of pride and love for his brats.

"Master, do you know why the Thunder Legion are still here? I thought that they were going with Laxus on a mission this morning?" Mira asked.

"I haven't the slightest idea, but I suspect that before the day is up, we will have our answer." Makarov said calmly. Mira nodded and tried to push the situation from her mind to join in with the festivities. The guild hall soon became boisterous with the sounds of holiday cheer. As far as Makarov could tell, almost every member of the guild was there. Even the youngest member of the guild, little Asuka, was running around, playing, and socializing with everyone that she came across.

It was then that Makarov recognized the tall blonde dragon slayer enter the guild pushing a giant wrapped present, with a tag that read 'Gildarts', into the guild hall with him. This did not go unnoticed by many of the mages in the guild, who began to jeer and joke with the man. The most surprising thing that happened was that Laxus laughed along with them. Once Laxus had finished pushing the box over to the Christmas tree, he walked over to his grandfather and began to empty smaller gifts from the large pockets of his coat.

"Merry Christmas, Gramps." Laxus said and handed the short man a bottle shaped present.

"Merry Christmas, my boy. What, may I ask, has brought this change about, hm?" Makarov asked as he accepted the bottle.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Gramps." Laxus said with a smirk as he picked up a round Christmas present from off the counter and made his way towards the Connell family. Mira looked up from talking with Lisanna and watched as Laxus carried a present over to Bisca and Alzack.

"Merry Christmas, Laxus." Bisca greeted cheerfully.

"Merry Christmas." Laxus returned and gave Alzack a nod in greeting. "I was looking for Asuka…" Laxus started to say when the shouts of the small child started coming towards him.

"Laxus! Laxus!" Asuka shouted and ran over to the large man. Much to ALzack and Bisca's surprise, Laxus kneeled down to be more level with the small girl. "Laxus did you get the Christmas card I made you?"

"I sure did." Laxus said with a smile.

"Do you feel all better now?" Asuka said in a sweet voice.

"I do," Laxus replied and held out the present to the small child. "I wanted to say thank you for being so thoughtful, so this is for you." Laxus said and placed the present in front of the young girl. The girl's eyes brightened at the sight of the gift and she began to jump up and down in excitement. She opened the lid to the gift box and let out a soft "wow".

"I know that it can be hard without someone your age to play with, but now you will always have a friend." Laxus said as the little girl pulled out of the box a tiny orange kitten.

"Thank you so much!" Asuka said and quickly showed her parents the small creature she had received.

"You're welcome kid." Laxus mumbled and turned around to look for a specific scarlet haired mage who was next on his list to visit.

Erza was on the opposite side of the hall sitting with Natsu, Lucy, and Gray. She had a bright smile as she dug in to her slice of cake. Laxus swiftly made his way towards her. It appeared as though her companions were distracted over some meaningless argument that had beem started between Gray and Natsu.

"Erza." Laxus spoke quietly as he attempted to grab the woman's attention. She looked up from her cake and raised a brow in curiosity at the lightning dragon slayer.

"Merry Christmas, Laxus." Erza said.

"Merry Christmas." Laxus returned and then held out a bottle shaped present to the scarlet hared mage. "This is a gift for Jellal. I figured that if I gave it to you that you would make sure that it reached him."

Erza eyed the gift and then accepted it with a smile before turning to Laxus.

"Thank you, I will be sure that he receives it. But, may I ask?" Erza said as she placed the bottle down on the table next to her. "Is there any reason that you chose to give him a gift this year?"

"No real reason," Laxus said with a chuckle. "I recently heard that we have the same taste in bourbon is all." Erza gave the man an odd look, but he didn't seem to notice as he started walking towards back towards the bar.

Sitting at the bar with a smirk on her lips and a drink in her hand, was Cana. She downed the rest of her bottle as Laxus approached.

"Hey Laxus, finally found where we hold the Christmas party, huh? It only took you how many years?" Cana laughed as Laxus stopped in front of her.

"Yeah, yeah… like that's not the fifth or sixth time I've heard that today." Laxus said with a chuckle of his own.

"Well pull up a seat, lightning rod, you're about a barrel and a half behind if you want to start drinking." Cana mused and she tapped the bar stool next to her.

"Not today, Cana. I was actually looking for Mira, if you've seen her." Laxus asked with a stupid grin on his face.

"Yeah, but it looks like you're too late." Cana said and brought a new bottle of liquor to her lips. Laxus had a panicked look on his face for half a second before Cana added; "Looks like she found you first."

Laxus turned around to find that Mira was right behind him with her sweet smile. "Hey, Laxus."

"Hey Mira, I was looking for you." Laxus said as he raised his hand to scratch the back of his head.

"You found me." Mira giggled as she folded her hands together behind her back.

"Could we um… talk?" Laxus said and motioned towards the upper level of the guild.

"Sure Laxus," Mira said and Laxus started heading up the stairs. As Mira went to follow the blonde man, Cana smacked her ass. "Go get'em, sugar tits." Cana said which earned her a glare from the demon mage.

Mira followed Laxus up the stairs to the deserted upper level of the guild. He walked away from the railing to try and get a little more privacy.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Mira said when Laxus stopped walking and turned to face her. Mira could tell that he was anxious about something and Laxus even started pacing slightly while searching for the words he needed.

"I…" Laxus started, only to stop again. He ran his hands through his hair and took a deep breath before turning to face the woman again.

"You know, if you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to." Mira said as she looked down and began to fiddle with her finger nails.

"No, I need to." Laxus mumbled. Mira nodded and waited patiently for Laxus to say what he needed to. Laxus racked his brain for what he wanted to say to the woman before he started laughing. Mira looked up at him with a quizzical brow.

"You know for a dragon slayer with all these heightened senses, I am pretty fucking oblivious." Laxus said with a hearty laugh. "I never realized how much the people in my life mean. I was always so lost in my fucking head that I couldn't see what was right in front of me. I never realized how much Evergreen cared or how much Bixslow motivated me or how much Freed protected me or…" Laxus paused to take in a deep breath before continuing. "…Or how much someone like you could relate to me."

This was not what Mira had expected when Laxus asked if they could talk. Mira had interacted with Laxus enough to know that he had said more just now than he usually would in a week. Everything between them before had always been about business, so this was definitely unexpected.

"I want to make up for being complete and total ass hat to everyone…" Laxus said and let the statement fall into silence.

"I saw what you did with Asuka." Mira said to try and relieve the pressure that the situation had presented with. "That was really nice of you. I think that if you can continue to do those things that you really can change how you appear to people."

By this point, Laxus was flustered. He hadn't managed to say what he wanted to say to Mira. He wasn't great with his words.

"Fuck it." Laxus said and took two steps towards Mira, closing the distance between them. He ran one hand through her hair before it came to rest on the back of her head while his other hand reached out to hold on to her waist as he leaned in and placed a kiss on the Mira's lips. Mira was taken aback by the sudden action by the blonde man, but leaned in to return the kiss none the less. By the time Laxus had pulled away, Mira had both of her arms around Laxus hold him to her in a light embrace. Laxus then leaned forward again to rest his forehead against Mira's before trying to say anything else.

"You know, someone told me that the pain we carry around with us can't be cured with just one kiss." Laxus said softly as a smirk formed on his face. "Would you like to help me figure out just how many kisses it would take?"

Mira let out a giggle at such a corny line.

"I would like that very much." She replied and leaned in to kiss Laxus once again.

"Merry Chistmas!" The booming voice rang through the guild hall as the one and only Gildarts Clive walked through the guild doors. The whole guild erupted in cheers and ran to greet the crash mage. Cana turned from the bar to give her dad a salute. While she was distracted by her father, Makarov sat down in front of her, surprising the card mage when she returned to her drink.

"Woah, didn't see you there old man." Cana said and leaned over to grab her drink.

"You know, when I saw Laxus this morning and his complete change in attitude, I shrugged it off, but then I began to think and I realized that there must be some kind of spell at work here." Makarov said as he pointed an accusing look at Cana.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Master." Cana replied as she watched her dad make his way other to the Christmas tree. Other guild members, particularly Natsu, were anxious to see what the lightning dragon slayer had gotten for Gildarts that was so big.

"Do you think that I remain oblivious to the magic that my brats use?" Makarov said as he pushed to get a confession from the card mage.

"Alright, alright, you got me old man, it was me." Cana said and pulled a card out from her bag to hand to the old guild master.

"Ahh, yes. I thought as much." Makarov said as he inspected the card. "I do believe that yesterday I said that he needed to figure this out on his own."

"You can't put all the blame me though, Master." Cana complained as she placed the card back in her bag. "The Change of Heart charm only works on those who are ready for it. Clearly thunder breath was ready to make this change. I just gave him a little push."

"Yes… and it's about damn time too." Makarov said with a grin on his face.

"Damn Laxus!" Gildarts yelled as he tossed the coverings to his gift off to the side. "I've been meaning to get myself on of these." The man yelled out with a chuckle and tossed himself into his new recliner.

Thank you for reading, let me know if you liked it or not.


End file.
